jcspigler2010

Bays are narrow at the range. Can't do head on.

Helloooo alll!!! Been a while since I've posted on my swing forum so figured I would update everyone... I have been working ALOT on not just my driver swing but my golf swing in general. But I started this forum because of my driver swing. This is what it currently looks like. I apologize for the terrible angle. Was hoping to get a better one today but rain... One thing I realized after my round this past weekend... I was gripping way too HARD. I thought I had a light grip on the club but no way! I was dramatically inhibiting me from swinging correctly and actually causing alot of un needed muscle stress in my neck and shoulders. I had to take off a couple days because I actually pulled something in my shoulders. I don't know what I was watching or thinking but I decided to REALLY lighten my grip strength. Its amazing the consistency I started having. Can't wait to play my next round with all that I've been practicing! Oh final thing... I did not realize how much I wasn't turning my shoulders and really coiling up on my back swing. I've started trying to get my back to face the target and its had some great results.

@mvmac first and foremost thank you for taking the time to make that video for me and help me on this journey. Wanted to provide an update on my driver swing. I have been practicing the wall drill over the last couple days, doing it in 1 minute segments. I have also worked on the feeling of the right hand pushing away the left. Not so much trying to keep the left arm straight but use opposing force from the right to keep it straight. I have also worked on center pivot and trying to rotate the left should to where the sternum notch is, ultimately reducing the head dipping forward. I still have a slit dip but have improved dramatically (in my humble opinion). Practicing these moves have made me appreciate how much the pros can rotate in their backswing and stay in form. It takes ALOT of balance, discipline, flexibility and core strength. My driver swing has taken on a new form (I think) and I feel CONFIDENT when addressing the ball with the lumber. I feel like the driver gets into a much better position at the top of the back swing and I'm not forcing to keep it out in front of me. Its natural how it rotates to the top using the mentioned above. I probably hit ~ 40 balls with my driver. My biggest miss was a pull, which was due to being a bit quick from the top and coming across the target line. Everything else was center face, solid and either straight or a bit of a fade. I even hit a couple of draws. Beautiful right to left flight. I was ecstatic! I noticed if I supinate (bow) the wrist at the top, I make better contact but the ball goes a bit to the left. Something I'll work on. See the following for my current driver swing. Again, sorry for not being able to get a head on shot. Someone was in the bay next to me so i couldn't commandeer it to take a head on shot. I tried doing more of a toe line shot in this one. But with the good comes the bad.... After crushing multiple drives down the middle and walking on cloud 9, I decided to play my favorite course (in my head) by simulating shots I would do hole to hole. Started off with crushing my opening drive down the middle. I then pulled out my 7 iron.... ... I have never duck hooked an iron so bad in my life. It duck hooked to the point that I was surprised looking at the ball flight. The contact was crisp and clean and I expected to look up and see a nice penetrating ball flight. Instead I see my ball going left and keeeeep going left. I am now applying this swing thought (center pivot) to all my clubs not just my driver so maybe this has uncovered a flaw in my previous approach to my iron swing. I have weakened my grip and re assessed my face angle. I was able to hit some good good iron shots with a straight flight or maybe a bit of a draw but it DOESN'T feel normal. I think my face was a bit closed before. Since I would take the club to the inside so much before, I would come over the top just a bit and the club face would be square to the target line (obviously my theory). So looks like I have another thing to work on :) See the following video. Any help @mvmac would be greatly appreciated.

Do this while keeping the 90 degree bend in the right arm?

Thanks for the response @mvmac. The swing I posted was one where my arms didn't get ahead of my body. This ball flew straight and true. It does happen occasionally where I rush the downswing and hook it. I will try the wall drill to start off. I'm a bit confused by this quote. I can make sense of the 90 degree rule but what do you mean by feel as if the right hand is "pushing" away the left?

Thanks for the tip boogie. I'll do this on my next film.

Posted in the right place :) Thanks!

I've been Playing Golf for: 4 years My current handicap index or average score is 15-16 My typical ball flight is: draw The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: duck hook Decided to post in the correct place! I have been working on my driver tirelessly. Its definitely holding my game back. I strike my irons really well. Compress the ball, take divots and feel confident when I'm standing over the ball before a shot. My driver on the other hand is sporadic, inconsistent, frustrating and a huge barrier in my goal to lower my handicap. After posting in the wrong place venting about my fruitless journey of finding my driver swing, I was directed here for help :) Thanks @mvmac for the instruction!! @mvmac , I have looked into the issue with my head dropping forward on my back swing. I think this is relevant in all my clubs, just exacerbates as my clubs get longer. Obviously most prevalent in the driver. I watched your center pivot video about 10 times and studied how Mac keeps his head steady and rotates his left should towards his sternum/center point of the swing. The HUGE part for me was the left arm extension about 1/3 maybe half way through the back swing. My previous instructor always said "keep the club out in front of you longer".... Well when I would do this, my swing would come disjointed from the rest of my body and I would end up coming over the top and well you know the rest, SLICE. This concept of a center point pivot and EXTENDing the left arm and shoulder in effect kept the club out in front of me longer. It got me on a more up right swing plane. It also reduced the amount of head drop in my driver. Now, I'm still working on this and will continue to work on it every day. Its a hard feeling to fully grasp because I still want to drop the club behind me and resort to my old ways. @mvmac, if you have any drills or suggestions on practicing this center pivot concept without actually being at the range, that would be awesome! Another thing I am working on which I think plagues all golfers good and bad, is letting the hands get ahead of the body. I am still working really hard on not just initiating the swing with the left hip turning counter clock wise, but keeping it turning so my hands don't get ahead of my body and QUACK QUACK, duck hook... Below is the latest swing using this center pivot concept. This was probably the best swing of the day for me other than the very last one which I don't have on camera. I can't get a head on view unfortunately because the bay is wayyy too narrow. @mvmac thanks again for the help on both TST and this swing concept! PS. I apologize for the blinkiness of the driver head. Youtube editor borked my video up when I was editing it.

Just a little update on my progress with..... THE DRIVER Went to the range the last two days and worked on a couple things. 1. Don't exaggerate the spine/shoulder tilt at address. Make sure your shoulders are parallel with the target line but don't feel like you forcing your left should to the sky. I've noticed less head bob and a much more balanced and comfortable setup. I would always look at the pros and they looked so natural addressing the ball with the driver. I felt like I was pulling off a balancing act when I did... 2. Supinate/bow the left wrist a bit at the top of the back swing. Now I'm not doing a DJ bow, but I think of it that way so I know my wrist is straight with my forearm if not slightly bowed. This does two things for me. 1) Setting the wrist at the top of the back swing gives time for my hips to initiate the down swing 2) setting the wrist helps with early cast and maximizing squaring up the face. 3. Focus on keeping the elbow pockets to the sky and the arms connected throughout the swing. I tend to forget this part of Mr. Hogan's 5 lesson/ get lazy.... 4. Brace the right leg with a slight bow inward of the knee. This prevents me from swaying and head bobbing and gives me the feeling of becoming a spring to unload on the ball. The biggest thing I need to work on which I notice also plagues my 3 and 5 woods is continuing rotation of the lower body through the swing. I think I get a BIT quick in my down swing. I do start the down swing with my lower body but my arms get ahead. This leads to the duck hook and pulls. Still pursuing instruction, just wanted to give and update. Oh and I've STOPPED the fruitless youtube quick fixes. It only creates a frankenstein of swing thoughts that end up confusing and frustrating me. I've dedicated my practice to slowing it down, analyze the problem, and work on the mechanics to improve. Not THEE quick fix.

@mvmac Thanks for the drill! Ill give it a whirl. Another question, is it possible to have too much shoulder lean? Or exaggerate it to the point it's affecting your swing plane and path? I'll get a face on video next time I'm at the range.

@Typhoon92 My friend suggested his instructor. Says she did wonders for his swing. Tiffany Faucette at 1757 golf club. She was the lead lpga instructor in 2014. Thanks For the compliments! I have been digging it out of the dirt for a while. Still A long way to go. @nevets88 Nope . Cell phone propped up on a bag clip

Thank you everyone for your responses! I'm pumped to be part of this community! Yes, I still fight a too far inside take away. Something i work on every day. One thing i notice though, it seems if I try to keep the club out in front of me longer, my swing becomes disconnected from the rest of my body and I end up coming over the top. Any suggestions on how to overcome or work on this would be awesome! Vinsk, I actually do keep my forearms a bit rigid, especially my left one. In my mind I'm trying to keep this perfectly straight left arm to prevent the dreaded chicken wing. I'll work on relaxing not only my hands but also my forearms. Oh and find a decent instructor that can not only show me what I'm doing wrong but ways to work to solving if :)

Thanks for the response RandallT! I noticed I posted in the wrong category after I already posted, didn't know how to change it :( woops If could get help with that, that would be great! I am seeking a better instructor to help me. The guy i went to relied soley on video to analyze and diagnose my swing. He would then point to tiger and say, we want to be like this... So you're saying i need to swing like one of the if not the greatest golfers in the world? Would you suggest stopping to YouTube video hunting? Sounds like it causes more confusion than solution. Thanks again RandellT!

First time posting on sand trap, I had to vent/pour my soul out somewhere where people maybe able to sympathize, understand and maybe help. This is fresh from a range session which is also probably why I'm posting. I started golfing ~4 years ago and love it. I became hooked after the first good golf shot I shot I hit. I'm infatuated by the game now. I have really worked on my swing from the ground up. I started with the 5 lessons from Mr Hogan. After I established the foundation he teaches in the 5 lessons and got a basic idea of how the golf swing works, I started working on smaller but game impacting issues. For example, I had the club going to far inside on take away. This cause the club to get trapped behind me and I'd have to chicken wing to save it. I worked on this by keeping the club out in front of me longer, using alignment rods and a golf tee in the bottom of the club grip. Tee should follow the belly button the first quarterish of the swing. So for almost all my clubs I was able to focus on particular traits in the issue I was experiencing, research what could be causing them, and work on correcting them. If the issue came back, I had an idea of what I was doing wrong. This applied to all my clubs except one... the driver. I have not spent more time on any other club than that #$@%! !#%!%! !$@%# ing club! I have watched numerous videos , I have bought a swing trainer (kind of like the Orange whip but a cheaper version), I have slowed down my swing, I have tried half swings, I have assessed myself in videos, I have seen an instructor and I am more lost than ever. For the longest time my miss has been a smother duck hook which i would stave off with a chicken wing. After seeing an instructor he said I am taking the club too far inside and that at the top of the back swing, my shaft is coming over the target line. I worked on this for a while with no results. I loosened my grip to get the maximum hinge and "whipping" effect. Thought I had something, tried repeating it the next day, nope, back to square one. I tried combining the previous, results one day, nothing the next. I recently increased my grip size from standard to a mid size grip hoping it would stave off my hook. Welp, I'm going the other direction now. My miss is a slice. I am hitting it dead center of the face. Noticed this today after I put tape on the head. My "power fade" is in the middle of the face and goes farrrr. I tilt the shoulders by angling the torso so they are parallel to the target line, I try and keep my arms together, try and initiate the backswing with my shoulders, I work on starting the down swing with my lower body, keep the head behind the ball, play the ball off arch of my left foot (right handed golfer). Nothing seemed to stick or at least be a general direction to head in. When I thought I had something, it would vanish the next day like some magical unicorn. I am so lost and so frustrated.... I recently started to hit my irons really really well, compresing the ball, and taking divots. My wedges are my confidence club. I feel great when im 90 yards out and a 56 degree in my hand. 5 and 3 wood i am getting better and more confident at the more I practice. My putting I've been working on ALOT. Alignment, rolling it consistently, follow through etc etc. But none of this matters if I can't hit a fairway. I played at one of my favorite courses the other day and shot an 88 but hit only 2 fairways. If it wasn't for my irons I would have shot a 108. If I could have hit a couple more fairways, I think i could have been in the lower 80s if not even have a shot at breaking into the upper 70s. I have dedicated alot of time to breaking down my driver swing and practicing to get it somewhat consistent and it's affecting my other clubs now. So not only is my driver crappy, its indirectly affecting my other clubs! I post this not necessarily for an instant fix or tip because that doesn't happen in golf, but to see if anyone (and I'm sure plenty have) has experienced this in their golf life, their story if they're will to share and how they dealt with it. Don't get me wrong though, a tip or suggestion won't fall on deaf ears. I'll try and post a video here some time. I look forward to reading people's responses!